One common frustration of ministry leaders I have worked with over the past 20 years is the inability to get the kind of accurate, succinct and timely information needed to make wise decisions.  Leaders need to know the health of their ministry on an ongoing basis.  They also need to be able to make decisions for both the short and long term based on reliable information.  Getting both can be difficult.

Not-for-profit board members also need reliable information presented in a usable and clear format in order to carry out their fiduciary responsibilities.  With this critical need, why do leaders lament so frequently that they cannot get the data they need, when they need it and in a form that is helpful?  Most often it is because leaders and board members are not sure exactly what they need, they just know that whatever it is, they are not getting it.

One way to address this problem is to think about the dashboard in your car.  Automobile designers consider the essential information that a driver needs to know while driving, and they build gauges accordingly.  They also decide what a driver does not need to know, and so they omit other possible indicators.  The end result is a dashboard of gauges that give the driver an immediate indication of the health of the car (oil pressure, water temperature, electrical system status and various engine warning lights), the vital information on its current performance (gear indicator, speedometer, tachometer, direction of travel, status of lights, etc.), and the critical indicators the driver needs to make future decisions (gas gauge, odometer/trip meter).  With one scan of the dashboard, the driver has the vial information he or she needs to drive responsibly, be assured the car is in good running condition, and to plan for dealing with future needs before they become critical.

Wouldn’t it be helpful if you had a similar type of dashboard of indicators and gauges for your ministry?  Well, design such a set of reports according to your needs.  Here are some suggestions. 

Ministry Health.  Most ministry leaders want to know the status of the ministry’s critical health on an ongoing basis.  Dashboard indicators may include a simple financial report that shows actuals vs. budget on a month-to-date and year-to-date basis.  I am constantly surprised at how few ministries have this simple and clear financial report.  It is a one-page, simple to read report that gives board and administrative leaders a quick, accurate view of the ministry’s finances.  In addition, ministry health indicators may be enrollment/recruiting updates, statistics on client’s served and the number of participants/campers/attendees given in the same “actual vs. budget” format.  Every ministry can create a simple set of no more than 3-5 one-page reports that will give its leaders an overall look at ministry health.

Ministry Performance.  What are the three most critical indicators of the quality of your performance on a monthly basis?  For a camp it might be responses from campers and chaperones.  For missions it might be the number of men who move from intake/rescue services to rehab and recovery programs.  For schools it might be test scores.  Whatever your indicators, you can develop a one-page report to track performance.  Again if the performance indicators can be provided in the context of past performance and the anticipated (or budgeted) performance, it will help highlight potential problems and also where the ministry is doing better than expected.

            Future Decisions.  Finally, every good dashboard of indicators will include a set of reports that alert the leadership to upcoming decisions before they become crises.  One great way to do this is to have a current strategic plan that is written in a useable format.  A good strategic plan will have measurable goals and objectives with dates and the people responsible.  A report can be easily generated that shows where the ministry is in the accomplishment of the plan.  Leaders can see where they are ahead and behind, and make adjustments in the longer term strategic decisions before they become short-term fires. 

            Imagine having in front of you a set of seven, one-page reports that clearly and accurately tell you your ministry’s health, current performance and future needs?  How would that serve the effectiveness and efficiency of your board meetings?  Such a set of dashboard reports are possible for every ministry.  Decide what you need to see and work with your team to design and produce these reports.  They will become a vital part of your management tools in service of your mission.